More on Mumbai…

The Washington Post has a front-page story today on the Mumbai attackers’ use of technology. I’m not sure why this constitutes front-page news, relative to other stories from Mumbai. The terrorists used GPS, BlackBerries, multiple SIM cards for their cellphones, and satellite maps? Well, of course. Millions of people have been using these things for years. Seems a bit unusual, possibly even patronizing, to think that this is somehow “new.”

Reminds me of a story a few years ago – can’t find it now, but will hunt for it – that described how refugees from the 1990s Balkan Wars became early adopters of Skype, to stay in touch with families left behind. Or how African farmers and merchants were among the first to use cellphones for currency transactions. We should expect innovative uses of technology to come from less advanced corners of the world, driven by need. And I really don’t think what was employed in Mumbai was all that innovative.